Wasn't Expecting That
by justatallgirl
Summary: Alexandria AU. Liz wasn't expecting any of this. She wasn't expecting zombies. She wasn't expecting to be alone for over a year with only a horse for company. She definitely wasn't expecting to actually be pretty good at surviving. But the thing that she most definitely wasn't expecting, even in her wildest dreams, was a man like Daryl Dixon walking into her life.
1. Chapter 1

Wasn't Expecting That

 **Hey guys! So this is my new fanfic I'm trying out. It's a Daryl/OC that will take place in an AU of sorts in Alexandria. Basically, I'm not planning on writing in the Negan storyline, its just going to be a fun, fairly lighthearted romance taking place in Alexandria. So if that's your thing, hopefully you'll enjoy this story**

Chapter 1.

Past and Present

 _Hoofbeats on asphalt is such a calming sound,_ I thought to myself as I made my way down the empty highway on my horse Sandy. It would have been more relaxing if I didn't have to be on high alert for zombies all the time. But, hey, that's just my life now.

 _However, I'm damn good at surviving this shitty card I've been dealt. If I do say so myself_

And it was true. When the walkers, as I now called, first started rising, I was 26 and fresh out veterinary school. The only thing I was worried about was trying to find a job. I assumed the weird stories I kept hearing on the news were just more cases of drugs gone bad. Until I got the call that made me realize they weren't.

I can still remember it, clear as day. My mom called me, and I could barely hear what she was saying because of commotion in the background "Liz. I need you to listen to me. You need to get away from the cities right now. Something's not right. Go to our old cabin out in the woods and don't go near any people. We'll try and find you as soon as we can." Before I could say anything, I heard my dad on the phone. "Liz, listen to your mother. Do you hear me? Did you understand what we said?" I was silent for a minute, trying to process what I was being told. "Elizabeth. I need you to answer. Did you hear what we said?" Finally, I managed to respond. "yes dad, I hear you. What's going on? How do I get there? Are you guys ok..." I started to ramble as I felt panic start to take hold. My dad quickly cut me off. "Honey, I can't answer all these questions because we don't know what's going on. But you need to get the hell out of dodge as fast as you can. Stay off the roads if possible. And take a gun. Your mother and I will do our best to make our way back to you." Suddenly a large bang sounded over the phone and the screaming I could hear faintly got louder, along with what sounded like growls. "Shit…sweetheart me and your mother have to go. We love you. So much." My mom's voice came back over the speaker. "I love you baby. Stay safe" With tears streaming down my cheeks, I croaked out an I love you before I heard a click.

That was the last thing I heard from my parents

I followed their advice as best I could, quickly shoving clothes into a small bag and grabbing both my handgun and my shotgun, along with all the ammunition I saw. Running outside, I started towards my car, but then my dad's _Stay off the roads if possible_ rang through my head. I stopped, thinking about what I should do. Looking around, I suddenly saw my horse standing at the gate to the barn. _The original off-road vehicle_ I thought as I headed to the barn. 10 minutes later, I was headed into the woods behind my house on Sandy. With one last look back at the house I grew up in, I headed into the trees.

I made it to our family cabin after a few hours. And I stayed there for a few weeks, as there was quite a store of food there. Eventually when my parents didn't show up, I decided to make my way out to see if I could find them. As I got close to our home, I saw some movement through the trees. Thinking it might be my parents, I smiled and urged Sandy on faster. But what I saw once I exited the tree line will haunt me till the day I die

It was my parents, but not really. It was just what was left of their bodies. The only reason I could tell it was them was by the cloths left on their rotting bodies. No, these weren't my parents anymore. Just empty shells. Both creatures turned towards me as I moved towards them. I jumped off Sandy, grabbing my gun as I did. Both started towards me, growling and snarling. I told them to stop, but no response. Backing away, I reached down and grabbed a rock and threw it one of them. Didn't even slow them down. Running out of options, I raised my gun to what was left of my mother, tears running down my face, and fired a shot into her chest. She fell to the ground in a heap. I turned to my father and repeated the process. As soon as my dad hit the ground, I fell to my knees, sobbing into the grass.

But it wasn't over. I heard the snarling start up again and I slowly raised my head in disbelief. Both creatures were back up and headed towards me again. Quickly grabbing my gun, I stood and did the only thing I could do. I fired a shot into each of their heads. And this time, they didn't get up.

A few hours later, after I buried what was left of my parents, I headed back into the woods to my new home. And that's where I stayed for the most part up until about 6 months ago. I occasionally ventured into town after a few months, but it was barren by the time I worked up the nerve to go there. The only thing I found was a compound bow, which I taught myself to shoot in all the free time I had out in the woods.

Following my parents advice, I avoided people for the most part. My first run in with people happened to be the worst one. It was one of my first trips to town. I stumbled across a man and woman rummaging through an old grocery store. They seemed nice at first, but the next thing I knew, I had a gun to my head. They stole what little I had in my bag and left me high and dry. _Lesson learned._

After that, I figured alone was safer. Easier. Better. And it was, for the most part. So, I kept myself isolated, with just Sandy for company. Until I didn't. Until Katie.

 _Nope. Shut that thought process down real quick, Liz._ Knocking that train of thought out of my head, I went back to remembering how I'd gotten so lucky that Aaron had found me.

When Aaron had stumbled upon me 6 months ago in the woods and promised he had a walled in community, I was suspicious to say the least. But he seemed a good man and I was really starving for some human company, so I cautiously followed him after thoroughly making sure he was unarmed. And I wasn't disappointed. Alexandria was exactly what he had described.

Alexandria had its issues, sure. But it also had giant walls, and food, and people. Alexandria had a community, and after over a year on my own, that's what I needed. Sure, I still kept to myself for the most part and the only real friends I'd made where Aaron and his partner Eric, but it was nice to just live with people I could trust in the vicinity again.

As I rounded the final corner, the gates of my new home came into view. I let out a sigh of relief and slowed Sandy down into a walk for the final stretch as I see the guards start motioning to open the gate to the guys below.

"Hey Liz! How'd the hunt go today?" one of the guys, Erin, shouted down from the top of the fence.

I held up my decently sized string of rabbits and squirrels as an answer. "Decent. Could've been worse."

Erin threw me a quick thumbs up and then turns to get back to his lookout duties. As I moved Sandy through the gate, I turned to start untying my string of game from the saddle, glancing forward quickly just to make sure there was nothing in front of me. What I saw made me quickly pull Sandy to a stop as I tried to keep jaw from dropping open.

 _Probably should have brought some more meat home_

A large group of strangers were standing about half a block in front of me with Deanna. They all looked road-worn and dirty, but I could tell they were on alert as the all stared curiously back at me.

 _Well I must admit, seeing a girl on horseback isn't the most common thing anymore. Probably wondering why I haven't eaten Sandy yet._

Shaking myself from my trance, I cautiously urged sandy forward, skirting around the edge of the group, trying to avoid eye contact with them as much as possible.

 _Still can't make eye contact with a crowd, I see. The apocalypse doesn't change everything I guess_

Deanna smiled at me as I neared the front. "Ah, there you are Liz. Get anything good today?" I shyly held up my haul. Deanna's smile brightened considerably. "Lovely. Something to share with our new friends," she said as she turned to the group. "This is Liz. She joined us about 6 months ago, but has been a great addition so far, as you can see." I blushed under her praise as she turned back to me and gestured to the bearded man closest to me. "Liz, this is Rick and his group. They'll hopefully be joining our community." I glanced up as Rick nodded to me. I did a quick nod back as I scanned the rest of the group.

Saying it was an odd assortment of people would be an understatement. Besides Rick, there was a woman with 2 katana blades strapped to her, a woman that appeared to be a normal housewife, a man wearing a leather vest looking at me curiously, a pretty brown-haired girl about my age with a Korean man who I assumed she was with by the way they were standing, and a teenage boy, to name a few. It was what the teenage boy was holding that stopped me in my tracks again.

 _Is that…a baby?_

Shock must have been apparent on my face because suddenly Rick spoke up for the first time. "That's my son and daughter, Carl and Judith." My eyes shot to him and back to his children quickly. I decided against saying anything and just nodded my head again.

Finished with my quick perusal of the strangers, I tried to think of something nice and charming to say to the group to welcome them, but the best I could get out was a quiet "welcome to Alexandria" before I turned Sandy and trotted off towards my home.

 _Welcome to Alexandria. That's all you could think of brain? Really? Hostess of the year award is coming my way obviously_

Shaking my head at my lack of social skills, I switched my train of thought back to the new group. They looked like a group that had seen some shit, as most people who have been out there for extended periods do. But to me that was a welcome relief. After having been on my own for a long time, I could tell the people of Alexandria, though they had many other great qualities, were extremely unprepared for the world out there. Having a large group of people that can actually take care of themselves would be a welcome addition to the group

Trying not to get to hopeful, I swung down off Sandy as I reached my house, giving her a quick pat. Tying her to the porch, I shoved thoughts of the new group out of my head and began unsaddling my horse. One last thought filtered through my head though.

 _Maybe these people are just what we needed_

 **As always, feel free to read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, here's chapter 2! As always, read and review if you want! Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

 **Odd encounters**

 _Ugh. What a fucking day._

It was starting to get dark as I rounded the corner to Alexandria. I had headed out that morning to check some traps I'd laid a few days before. I hadn't planned to be gone more than a few hours. But the universe had other news for me.

I was in the woods pulling a rabbit out of snare, Sandy a few yards behind me, when I heard some distant snarling. _Few walkers, no big deal,_ I thought to myself as I continued with what I was doing. However, a few minutes later, I realized that the noises had multiplied, and unfortunately were growing louder. I slowly stood to my feet, scanning through the trees in front of me. Sandy began to grow restless behind me, tossing her head and pawing. Still watching in front of me, I saw a few walkers begin to take form shuffling through the trees. Then a few more. And then… a lot more.

 _Fuck._

I quickly darted backwards, jumping on Sandy as fast as I could and swinging her around in the direction opposite the herd. Setting off at a run through the trees, I tried to put as much distance between us a possible. After about 10 minutes, I slowed to see if I could still hear the walkers. They were definitely still audible in the distance, but they didn't seem to be growing any closer. With a sigh of relief, I looked around. I realized, unfortunately, that the herd was between me and Alexandria, meaning I was going to have to go all the way around them. _Detour time._ We set off at a trot towards what I hoped was the end of the herd. After several miles, I slowly ventured back towards Alexandria, thankfully missing anymore walkers. When we finally emerged on out onto the road, it took me a minute to figure out where we were, but once I did finally get my bearings, I groaned. We were miles past where we'd started, and probably several hours from home on horseback. "Sorry girl, we've still got a hell of a hike," I said to Sandy as I patted her on the neck. She snorted before we set off at a walk.

Which is how I ended up here, walking my very tired horse towards the gates of home. I heard people start yelling as I approached. "Hey, it's Liz! She made it back guys!" I waved to everyone as they pulled open the gate. I hopped off Sandy and explained what had happened to the group around the gate, Aaron being one of them. "You are a sight for sore eyes Liz. I was really starting to worry about you," Aaron said with relief. I gave him a weary smile and shook my head. "You know I can handle myself out there Aaron. I did it for months. Besides, I've got Sandy to look after me, don't I?" I said with a pat to her neck. He laughed a little. "Yea, yea, I know. You tell me all the time…Anyway, you and your mighty steed here look exhausted, so go on home and get some rest. I'll take whatever game you brought and go tell Deanna you made it back." As soon as he said game, my eyes widened, and I twisted around to look behind my saddle

"God dammit, I forgot the fucking rabbit."

Aaron's eyes widened before he busted into a full laugh, me joining him after a few seconds. He straightened up, wiping his eyes. "Ah, Liz. You would be the one worried about dropping one rabbit as you ran for your life," he finally managed to get out. Both of us still fighting laughs, he reached out and gave me a light shove towards home. "Go home, Liz. Have a good night," I gave him a wave as I turned towards my house, walking Sandy beside me, him heading the opposite direction towards Deanna's house.

As we walked down the block and turned the corner to my street, my tiredness hit me full force and I shuffled along at a slow pace, not really paying attention to my surroundings. Which is why I about jumped out of my skin when I heard a quiet, but gruff voice.

"How'd you manage to keep a horse alive this whole time?"

A tiny squeal escaped me as I whirled around, looking for where the voice came from. I finally saw a man sitting on the porch steps off to my left. I realized it was one of the new guys, the one with leather vest. I had yet to really interact with anyone from the new group. They had been here a week or two and were, understandably, still adjusting to living here. They kept to themselves a lot, not that I could blame them. I had been here 6 months and still kept to myself except for occasional dinner with Aaron and Eric. So besides the occasional nod and wave, I don't think I'd even spoken to any of the new members since I'd welcomed them. I didn't even know their names yet.

Biker guy, as I'd been referring to him in my head, seemed to be the most antisocial out of the group. I'd seen a few of the others making small talk with others, but I don't know if I'd ever even heard biker guy speak.

 _Up until right now, that is. When he decides to use his new-found voice to scare the shit out of you._

Realizing I had still been staring at Biker guy in shock and hadn't actually said anything, I cleared my throat and managed to speak. "oh my god, you scared the shit out of me," shaking my head, i took a deep breath to try and slow down my heart rate before looking back up at him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Said, how'd you keep a horse alive this whole time," he said with a gesture towards Sandy behind me. I glanced back at her as he did so. "Oh, Sandy? I, uh, well, I don't know really. Wasn't too hard, except for winter. Had to find some hay in a barn then, but, uh, yea…" I trailed off awkwardly. He stared at me for a moment before he just grunted out a "Hmm," and looked down. Feeling mildly uncomfortable, I blurted out the first thing that ran through my head. "I'd say she kept me alive actually. She's saved me more times than I can count."

 _Nice going Liz, way to sound like the weird horse girl._

He just looked back up at me curiously before getting up off the stairs and making his way across the yard towards us. As he ambled towards me, I realized 2 things. One, he had a cigarette in his hand that I hadn't noticed before. _Where the hell is this guy getting cigarettes,_ crossed through my brain but was quickly overshadowed by the second thing I'd realized.

Biker guy was attractive.

Like, REALLY attractive.

I don't know how I hadn't noticed it while we'd been speaking before, but the closer he got to me the more I felt my eyes widen. Shaggy hair, bad boy vibe, and arms that made me want to drool a little. Check, check, and check.

 _How the HELL did you not notice this guy, Liz?_

At this point, he was right in front of me. "Like when?" he asked quietly in the rough voice before taking a drag of his cigarette. I stared at him for a second, trying to figure out what he was talking about before I croaked out a "what?"

Looking down at me with blue eyes narrowed, he repeated himself, looking at me like I might be a bit slow. "when did she save you?"

"Oh, OH, ok, sorry. Umm… well lot of times really. She always can tell when walkers are coming before I can…and she's helped me out run a lot of walkers. Like today for example, she took me miles out of the way of a herd while I was out hunting. Even though it was a pointless trip cause I forgot the damn rabbit…" I grumbled the last sentence more to myself before continuing. "And she kept me company when I was out there alone. It wasn't the same as human company, but having another living being there was comforting, ya know…" At this point, I realized I'd been rambling a bit and looked up at him.

He nodded his head and took another drag of cigarette. "You were out there alone?" Surprised, I nodded "uh, yea. I was alone until I got here about 6 months ago. Well, mostly alone. But I'd rather not talk about that…" Katie's face flashed across my mind before I shook my head and looked down at my feet.

There was an awkward lull in the conversation as I stared anywhere but him before I saw him moving. Glancing up, I watched him reach out to pat sandy on the nose. She snuffled into his hand and I swear I saw the slightest upward twitch of his lips before he was back to his normal surly expression. He met my gaze and I realized I still didn't know his name.

I stuck my hand out between us. "We haven't actually met before. I'm Liz." He looked down at my hand before dropping his cigarette into the road and grabbing my hand, shaking it once before letting go. "Daryl."

Nodding, I realized we'd been standing in the middle of the road for about 10 minutes. I looked around and said "well, uh, it was nice to meet you Daryl, but I'm beat and so is Sandy, so I'm gonna go…" I trailed off awkwardly again. He nodded once, taking a step back and putting his hands in his pockets.

Turning around I took a few steps away before stopping and looking back over my shoulder. "I'll see you around?" I said, it coming out sounding more like a question than I wanted it to. He nodded again and grumbled out a rough "see ya" before he turned around and headed towards his own house.

Confused by the encounter I'd just had, Daryl didn't leave my mind for the rest of the evening until my head hit the pillow that night.

 **Yay, we met Daryl! Tell me what you guys think of this chapter! Comments and criticism are always welcome!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So…. I have returned. Sorry about the long break after chapter 2 guys. I'm in grad school and my schedule got super crazy right around the time I started writing this story. BUT, I've gotten through those classes and my schedule is looking a bit easier now so hopefully should be able to update regularly.**

 **Anyway, here's the next chapter. Little bit of a filler, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

Chapter 3: Being Neighborly

I woke up the next morning still a bit astounded by my interaction with Daryl the night before. From what I'd observed, he didn't seem to even talk to his group members much, let alone people he didn't know. So why he had decided to start up a whole conversation with a stranger in the middle of the night last night was entirely beyond me.

 _Maybe he secretly likes horses or something? Because I highly doubt it's my charming personality that drew him in._

Deciding that I was just going to go around and around with no answers, I put the whole thing in the back of mind for the day as I got up, got dressed, and ran downstairs to grab a slightly stale granola bar for breakfast. Munching on it, I made my way out the door to find Deanna and see if she needed me to do anything that day. _Hopefully she won't want me to go out again on Sandy. Poor girl's tired after yesterday,_ I thought to myself with a glance to the makeshift pasture I'd built next to my house. Sandy was laid out napping in morning sun. I slowed to a stop, a small smile stretching across my face as I realized I could hear a slight snore coming from the horse. After a few moments of enjoying the peaceful view, I became aware of a presence off to my right.

Turning my head, I saw the brown-haired woman from the new group standing a few feet away. She looked at me, then at Sandy. "Funny when they snore, isn't it?" she said in a southern accent with a small grin. Realizing she had caught me standing like an idiot staring and smiling at my horse, I offered a small chuckle and an awkward half-smile before I looked at the ground. _Good job, Liz, now the new group is definitely gonna think you're the weird horse girl,_ I thought, mentally slapping myself in the forehead. Glancing up again, the woman met my eyes. My embarrassment must have been written on my face because she shook her head and stepped closer before saying "I always caught myself watching my horses too, back on our farm. I'm sure people thought I was weird, but they just didn't get it." Realizing she was trying to reassure me, I relaxed a bit and fully smiled back at her.

"Glad to know I'm not the only one. I'm Liz and that's Sandy" I said as I stuck out my hand and motioned with my head over towards the pasture. "Maggie," she answered with a firm shake and another smile. She started up another attempt at conversation, which got slightly better as we talked, and I managed to let my guard down a bit. After a few minutes, I was beginning to enjoy the conversation, and that's when I noticed some movement off to my left. Glancing over, I did a double take when I realized it was Daryl walking past

 _Somehow, he looks even better in the daylight._ He was wearing his typical sleeveless shirt and leather vest attire, and I had to remind myself to keep jaw off the ground.

After a few moments of me staring at him, Daryl sensed someone looking and glanced over, making eye contact with me before glancing over to Maggie. He slowed a bit, glancing between us, brow slightly furrowing, before focusing on Maggie again. He gave her a quick nod in greeting before shifting his gaze back to me. "…Hey Liz," he basically grunted out before he shifted his gaze back to the ground and walked off, before I could even attempt to make a response.

… _he acknowledged me? In broad daylight? In front of his friend?_

Shock, tinged with a bit of pleasant surprise, ran through my body as I turned to look back at Maggie. She was looking at Daryl's back with what I'm sure was a similar expression to mine before she met my eyes again. "Do you know Daryl?" she asked, her brow wrinkling a bit.

I shifted my gaze down to my hands uncomfortably as I answered. "uh, well technically yes, but no…not really…" I said before as I glanced up to still find her looking confused. Deciding that required a bit more explanation, I continued. "we, uh, well we met last night as I was coming in. He stopped me and asked about Sandy and we talked for a few minutes."

Her surprised expression returned full force. "He stopped you?" I nodded once. "…and he started a conversation?" she asked again, disbelief leaking into her voice. I nodded once more, starting to get a bit confused by her response. She finally shook her head a bit, muttering a small "huh…" under her breath before looking at me again. I must have looked concerned because she quickly began to explain. "I'm sorry for the questions, it's just…well, it's a bit out of character for Daryl to start conversations people he doesn't know, let alone talk to them again the next morning. It just surprised me, that's all." I nodded in understanding, simultaneously relieved that I wasn't the reason Maggie was so surprised and confused even more now that Maggie had confirmed my earlier suspicions that it was, in fact, odd behavior from Daryl.

I must have zoned out thinking about the situation because the next thing I knew I felt a slight nudge on my shoulder. I quickly looked up to find Maggie smiling at me. "Don't look so worried. It's not a bad thing Daryl decided to pick you to start making friends," she said with a laugh. I chuckled, feeling myself relax again. She continued "Anyway, it makes me trust you even more. He's usually a good judge of character." I smiled and looked down at my feet, pleased but still uncomfortable with the compliment.

"Well, I better let you get back to whatever you were doing." Maggie said as started to back away and turn back the way she came from. "Have a nice day, Liz!" "You too, Maggie" I said quietly. Standing there a few more minutes to wrap my head around what had just happened, I smiled to myself again as a happy thought crossed my mind

 _I think…I somehow just made 2 new friends. In one day. In the apocalypse._

 _That's gotta be some kind of record._

 **As always, read and review if you want! I always appreciate the feedback!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Updating two days in a row? Must be a miracle. Not much to say about this chapter, so let's dive in!**

Chapter 4: Actual Biker Guy

After my conversation with Maggie, I continued through Alexandria looking for Deanna. After asking around a bit, I finally found her in the food supply area. She smiled and motioned me over once she saw me

"Ah Liz, I thought you'd show up sometime this morning. I'm glad you made it back last night. We were getting worried about you." I shrugged my shoulders. "You know I can do alright out there on my own, Deanna."

She smiled and patted my shoulder. "Well, we worry about you anyway." She went back to inventory of the food pantry as she continued, "Anyway, was there something you needed?" Mentally crossing my fingers for luck, I asked "Yea, I was wondering if there was anything particular you needed me to do today?" _Please don't say go hunting, PLEASE don't say go hunting._ Holding my breath, I waited for the response.

Deanna turned around quickly. "Oh no, Liz! You had a rough day yesterday. Why don't you just stay in today? I'm sure you've got something you can do to keep you busy." _YEESSS,_ I cheered as I mentally did a happy dance. Before she could change her mind, I told her thanks and made my way back to my house, a little more spring in my step at the idea of an easy day.

As I turned a corner towards my house, I saw Aaron and Eric walking towards me. A smile crossing my face, I made my way over to them. "Aaron! Eric! Hey!" They looked up, smiling and greeted me. Aaron began, "Lauren! We were hoping to run into you. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? We managed to snag some spaghetti stuff.

 _The gods are smiling down on me today,_ I thought to myself as my mouth began to water at the thought of a good, homecooked meal. "Is that even a question, Aaron? Of course, I'll come over and eat all your food. That's my favorite hobby," I said with a laugh at the end. They chuckled with me before continuing. "We thought that might be your answer. Come over around 6!" they said as we said goodbye and continued on our way. In a great mood, I continued my trip to my house and went inside.

/

 _Even though it's the apocalypse, I still feel bad for not bringing something to dinner,_ I thought to myself as I headed down the block to Aaron and Eric's house that afternoon. As I neared the house, I noticed the garage door was open and I could hear some faint noises. _Odd, I didn't know Aaron and Eric kept anything in the garage…_ Changing my course, I turned and headed towards the opening. As I reached the doorway, I opened my mouth to begin a greeting, but it got caught in my throat when I took in the scene in front of me.

There was a motorcycle, well, a partial motorcycle, with parts strewn around it in various states of disrepair. I then honed on in the back of a man who was squatting next to the bike with his back to me. After a second of looking, I realized something that made me bark out a laugh. _So, he really is a biker dude._

Daryl tensed at the sudden noise before he turned quickly to look back in my direction. He narrowed his eyes when he saw me. "What are ya laughing at?" he asked, sounding somewhat defensive. I quickly smiled to reassure him as I shook my head. "Not at you! I just…well don't take offense, but I had been calling you biker dude in my head before I knew your name and, well," I gestured towards him and the bike in front of him. "it just made me laugh a little that my made-up nickname for you was actually kinda accurate," I said with another chuckle. Daryl let out a small huff that I assumed was a laugh and I think I even saw him smile a bit as he turned his head to look at the ground. _Ha! I'm gonna count that as making him laugh._ He rubbed a hand over his face, looking like he was trying to wipe his amusement off his face. He turned back towards the bike and began to work on…well whatever he was doing before.

Curious, I stood up on my tiptoes to try and see what he was doing. Realizing it wasn't really helping, I slowly walked around Daryl and closer to where I could see. Picking a clear spot on the floor near a toolbox, I sat down slowly, trying to watch and not disturb him at the same time. I saw him glance over at me with an odd look on his face, but he continued working while I watched. It was fascinating to me that he seemed to just…KNOW where everything went in the giant hunk of metal (or that's what it looked like to me anyway). After a few minutes, I noticed him glancing over at me again, seemingly confused by continued presence. I cleared my throat as I decided to explain myself. "Sorry, I was just curious about what you were doing. I'm awful with anything mechanical, so it always amazes me when people can just, I don't know, put things back together." Realizing he was still looking at me, I suddenly had the thought that he might not WANT my company. Panicking a bit, I started to ramble as I began to stand up. "Oh god, I'm probably bothering you, aren't I? I'm sorry I should have realized you don't want someone staring at you as you work!" I was about halfway off the floor when I saw him shake his head. "Nah, you're good…. don't mind ya watching if ya want," he said in a gruff voice as he briefly met my eyes. Still halfway crouched, I slowly sank back down to the floor expecting him to change his mind. But he just went back to his work.

After a few minutes, he startled me by suddenly speaking. "Hand me a crescent wrench, will ya?" he said, gesturing vaguely towards the toolbox next to me. My eyes widening, I investigated the box. _Shit. Really should have learned more about tools from dad._ Digging through the box slowly, I managed to narrow it down to a couple tools that I knew were wrenches but were too similar for me to tell apart. Giving up, I held up a tool in each hand and looked back to Daryl. "Alright, ill admit my weaknesses. I know next to nothing about tools. I'm pretty sure one of these is it." He looked up and after a second, nodded towards my left hand. _Yes, didn't make myself look stupid._ I handed it over to him

We continued to sit in surprisingly comfortable silence, only broken by the clanging metal and occasional request by Daryl for another tool. I managed to get most of the tools right as I handed them to him, although there were a few more specific tools where I was just completely wrong. I could tell he was trying to hide his amusement when I held up 2 completely wrong tools. I just would sheepishly smile and try to find the correct one as he gave me an actual description.

After a while, I heard some footsteps coming from the door to the house. Aaron popped through the doorway, looking at a dishrag in his hands. "hey Daryl, dinner's almost…" he suddenly stopped as he looked up and noticed me sitting there with Daryl. "Oh, Liz! How long have you been here?" I shrugged. "Not sure, maybe 20 minutes. I was just helping Daryl fix his bike." An audible snort left Daryl at that statement. I laughed before backtracking, "alright, alright, I was WATCHING d=Daryl fix his bike and occasionally assisting by handing him tools." I looked at him before adding "That description better?" He just nodded, the corner of his mouth quirking up the slightest bit. I glanced back up to Aaron, seeing a look of surprise that was similar to Maggie's that morning when Daryl had greeted me. He shook his head at our interaction before speaking. "Well as I was saying, dinners about ready, so you all can come on in," he said before he turned and headed back into the house. I turned to Daryl. "I didn't know you were eating here too. Although I guess I should have assumed since you were in their garage…." I trailed off. Daryl seemed to bristle a little bit. "That a problem?" Shaking my head, I quickly answered "No, of course not! I just didn't know you knew Aaron and Eric." He looked at me a few more seconds before he relaxed and nodded. _Whoo, note to self. He's just a little defensive. Like a stray dog that got ran off one too many times._ I stood up and started heading towards the house slowly, waiting for Daryl by the doorway as he put his tools away. He followed me into the house before stepping into the bathroom, I assume to wash his hands. I went into the kitchen and greeted Eric, before grabbing some stuff to help Aaron set the table. The 3 of us were sitting down as Daryl came around the corner and cautiously approached the chair next to me, sitting down slowly.

Daryl was quiet all dinner, although he obviously appreciated the food by how voraciously he ate. Aaron and Eric supplied most of the conversation, with me chipping in occasionally. Overall, it was a good time and we all ate enough pasta to feed an army. After we were done, Daryl stood up and picked up his dishes, taking them to the sink. He turned and looked at Aaron and Eric, rubbing his neck a little awkwardly. "Thanks for the food…I'm gonna head back into the garage." He turned and left the room before Aaron and Eric could get out more than a "no problem." We all quickly got to work on the dishes, chatting quietly the entire time.

Once the kitchen was clean, I said my goodbyes to Aaron and Eric, thanking them for the millionth time for the food. I started to head towards the front door, before changing my mind and heading towards the garage. Daryl was still out there, same place he had been before. We made eye contact for a moment as I exited the house before he looked back the bike. I stepped a bit closer to him. "…thanks for letting me watch you earlier. I really hope I wasn't bothering you." He shook his head. "Already said ya weren't." I nodded once. After a few seconds of silence, I started to turn to leave when I heard Daryl speak again "You're pretty quiet…so I guess you can help me with this as long as you don't start gabbing too much."

Shocked that I got a full sentence out of Daryl, a large grin broke out across my face once I realized that Daryl had basically said that he liked my company and pretty much invited me back again. _Well, more like doesn't mind my company, but I'll take it!_ He was actively avoiding my gaze, making me think he was a bit embarrassed by his invitation.Still smiling, I said "I would like that," quietly. "Night, Daryl," I said as I turned and headed out of the garage. A thrill ran through me when I head a quiet "Night, Liz" behind me.

The grin didn't leave my face all the way back to my house.

 **And there it is. Lots of Daryl interaction for you. I couldn't quite get the ending like I wanted to, but overall, I really like this chapter. Hope you all enjoy it as well!**

 **As always, read and review! Your feedback is always appreciated**


	5. Chapter 5

**What's up guys? This is a fun chapter with lots of Daryl interaction. I'm honestly really happy with how this turned out, so hopefully you guys do too!**

 **Anyway, on with the show!**

Chapter 5: Honesty Hour

 _KATIE!_

I shot straight up in bed, gasping for breath. I reached a hand up to wipe the sweat off my forehead. Looking at the clock next to my bed, I groaned at the time. _2 AM. Great, just great._ My breathing slowly returning to normal, I rubbed my eyes, praying that I would be able to fall back asleep, but knowing it was pointless. I was never able to fall back asleep after nightmares. Especially my reoccurring one.

The nightmare was always the same. It was always about Katie. It started off pleasant, but always ended with me letting her down. Again. And I was forced to relive those final moments, which always brought me abruptly out of sleep with tears in my eyes.

Groaning again, I decided to get up instead of just laying in my bed until dawn. I slowly left the comfortable mattress and padded downstairs. Looking out the front windows, I noticed it was a full moon and decided that a walk would be nice. Grabbing some shoes and a knife (because a girl can never be too careful), I exited my house and started ambling down the block, no real destination in mind.

After a few minutes, I arrived at a small gazebo near the pond in the middle of town. Making my way across the grass, I stepped onto the wooden platform and across it to a large wooden swing that overlooked the pond. Sitting down, I took in the peaceful view in front of me. Figuring I was safe enough here, I shut my eyes and leaned my head back, slowly rocking back and forth.

Suddenly, my eyes shot open and I was on high alert. _I swear…I just heard something behind me._ Listening closer, I waited. Sure enough, I heard the noise again, but closer. Shooting out of the swing, I whirled around and grabbed my knife in one smooth movement. When I got all the way around, I aimed it at the dark figure I saw near the edge of the gazebo. It took my brain a second to catch up, but when I did a blush shot across my face. Not only was my "attacker" NOT a walker, but it was actually Daryl. And I was pointing my knife right at him.

It had been a few days since our interaction in the garage, and I had only seen Daryl in passing. While we hadn't been able to have a conversation, I always made sure to smile or offer a small wave if I saw him. I was pleased to get a small head nod in return each time. Our new friendship, if you could even call it that yet, was tentative to say the least, but it was something. However, I was still surprised to see him in the middle of the night, and I could only stare in shock.

Suddenly, Daryl's voice interrupted my thoughts. "You gonna put the knife down anytime soon?" Realizing belatedly that I was still aiming at him, I quickly put my knife away and straightened up. "Oh god, sorry Daryl. I just heard something behind me and reacted. You can't sneak up on a girl like that," I said as I placed a hand over my heart, telling it to slow down. A gruff "sorry" reached my ears before there was an awkward pause and we both looked at each other and then to our feet. _THIS IS SO AWKWARD. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SPEAK LIZ! SAY ANTHING!_

Realizing I had no idea why Daryl was out here at this time, I glanced up with a questioning look. "What are you doing out here," I asked as I turned slowly and went back to the swing, turning halfway around once I was seated so I could still see Daryl. He followed my movements with his eyes before I saw him glance back down at his feet. He cleared his throat a bit before speaking quietly. "Just got off watch. I was headed back to my place when I saw you over here…came over to see what you were doing." As he spoke, he slowly approached the swing and took a seat cautiously on the other side of the bench. I made a small noise of understanding as my response and turned my gaze back to the pond. After we both sat there a minute in slightly less awkward silence, I was surprised to hear him speak again. "…why exactly are you out here?"

I sighed. Glancing at him, I simply said "Nightmares," with a sheepish shrug of my shoulders. "Mmm," was all I got in response before we lapsed into silence again. I noticed him out of the corner of my eye start reaching into his pockets and pull out a cigarette and lighter. After lighting it, he took a couple puffs and after exhaling, I heard him say "You wanna talk about 'em?"

Whipping my head in his direction, I felt my eyebrows go nearly into my hairline. _This man never ceases to surprise me._ We made eye contact and I simply looked at him for a second before sighing and looking down at my hands. "I don't wanna bother you…its not exactly the most pleasant tale," I said before I looked back up at him. His response to that was to simply lean back in the swing and get more comfortable, before he made a carry on motion with his hand and said "I asked, didn't I?"

 _Well…he asked…and it might help me to actually talk about this…_ With that, I shifted so I was facing him on the swing and pulled my legs up onto the bench. With a deep breath, I dove into the story.

"I won't give you too much backstory, but I was alone pretty much since the beginning of this mess. Had to kill my parents." At that I had to stop and swallow back some of my emotions before continuing. "…I've made my peace with that because they were gone long before I saw them, but still…that messes you up a bit. After them, the only people I ever interacted with tried to rob me or worse…so I stuck to myself. Until I met a girl…Katie." Speaking her name out loud for the first time in a long time felt odd. I cleared my throat before barreling on. "I was on a supply run when I heard something in one of the stores. I snuck in to see what it was and saw a girl. Couldn't have been more than 15. Skinny, dirty, didn't look like she'd been doing very well. And she seemed to be alone. By this point I was starving for human interaction and I figured I could do a lot more harm than her, so I made myself known." I let out a short chuckle at the memory. "She about shit herself when I said popped out and spoke for the first time. Jumped a foot off the floor at least." I glanced up to see a half smile cross Daryl's face before I sobered back up and went on with the story.

"Anyway, we both must have been pretty desperate for other people because I ended up inviting her to join me. And she accepted after realizing I was also alone. We rode double back my cabin on Sandy and there we stayed for about 6 months. It was…good. She was my best friend, but I also felt, I don't know, responsible for her since she was so much younger. Like a little sister, I guess." Realizing I was close to the end, I felt my throat start to constrict with emotion, and my voice was shaky as I started again.

"…We went on a run into town. Just a normal supply run. We did everything safely. Scoped the area first, weren't drawing attention to ourselves… Everything was going according to plan." I swallowed thickly. "The herd came out of nowhere…I guess they smelled us or something, but they got us cornered." At this point, my eyes were blurry with tears. "We tried to fight our way through them, back to back, just like we'd practiced…but there were just too many…they separated us an-and she tripped and went down…" I gasped in a breath as the tears started rolling down my cheeks. "After she went down…the herd fell on her and I managed to get clear by jumping on a dumpster then onto a roof….I-I-I tried to turn around and shoot her, because the one thing we had PROMISED each other, over and OVER, was that we wouldn't let each other turn….b-but the herd was too thick and she was already gone…I couldn't help her…I didn't do the one thing I promised her I would do."

Realizing I was rambling, I took a deep breath, tears still running. "…Anyway, that's what I see. In my nightmares, I mean. Those final moments. Her as a walker. Her coming back to ask me why I didn't save her…." I trailed off. Embarrassed, I began to rub the tears off my face and tried to pull myself together, avoiding eye contact with Daryl. _God Liz, way to make yourself look weak. Pull your shit together._

Suddenly I saw something enter my vision where I was staring down at my lap. Daryl's hand slowly came over to rest on my knee. Taking a breath, I looked up to see him already looking at me. "Wasn't your fault…you did everything you could…she wouldn't have wanted you to die trying to save her." Patting my knee slightly, he took his hand back and returned it to his lap.

Taking another deep breath, I managed to get out a very quiet "Thank you, Daryl" before we lapsed into silence again, only interrupted by my sniffles. After I'd stopped crying together, I was about the thank Daryl again when he started speaking.

"Had to kill my brother…" I looked up at him, eyes wide. He sat up and put his elbows on his knees, staring at the ground between his feet as he continued. "He was older but seemed like I was always the one taking care of him…He had turned before I could get to him…he was an asshole, Merle, but he was still my brother. And he didn't deserve to turn." At this point, he turned and looked at me. "So, I get it. Not the same situation, but still…I get it." He looked back down at the ground and was silent.

Now I didn't pretend like I knew Daryl well. Honestly, I barely knew the guy. But I could tell from our few interactions that he was a private man. So, the fact that he shared anything with me made me feel a large rush of affection for him. Wanting to comfort him like he had me, I slowly reached out a hand and placed it on his forearm. He tensed at first and looked down at my hand, which almost made me snatch my hand away, but then he took a breath and relaxed. I gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "I guess we've all had to lose people at this point, but it's never easy. I'm sorry Daryl." I let go of his arm, not wanting to push my limits. He glanced down at my hand as I took it away, then back at the pond. I followed suit and we both lost ourselves to our thoughts.

I realized that I felt better. Yea, sure, it was embarrassing crying in front of Daryl and yea, it was a little awkward, but I must have really needed to let this out. Was I still sad? Yes, but I felt 10lbs lighter, and for the first time, I felt like it could get better with time. Turning to Daryl, I broke the silence. "I know I've already said this but thank you again Daryl. You're the first person I've actually talked to about Katie…and I think I really needed it." I chuckled a little and continued. "Basically, thanks for coming to talk to me even after I almost stabbed you."

Daryl huffed out a small laugh and then reached a hand up to swipe across his face. "Wanna know something?" as he turned and met my eyes. I sat up a little straighter, tilting my head a bit curiously before nodding. He leaned a little closer, then said "I actually thought you were asleep and was actually coming over here to chew you out and tell you to get your dumb ass inside."

I felt my jaw drop open a little bit. Daryl maintained his serious expression for a few seconds before I saw some amusement cross his face and I realized he was messing with me. "YOU JERK!' I said with a laugh as I reached over and shoved his shoulder. He actually full blown smiled at that and laughed a little and I felt my breath catch a little bit.

 _OH MY GOD…who knew Daryl would have the most adorable smile? WHY DOES HE NOT SMILE ALL THE TIME?_

As we both stopped laughing, a yawn managed to sneak out and I quickly covered my mouth. Daryl noticed the action and stood up. "I'll walk you back." Fighting the blush that statement made appear, I cracked out "so chivalrous" as I stood. Daryl snorted. "Don't get too excited, your house is on the way to mine."

I fake winced as I covered my heart. "You wound me! Why must you be so cruel?" Daryl just rolled his eyes and started walking, leaving me to catch up. We walked in comfortable silence until we got back to the house. As we reached my driveway I turned to tell him thanks for walking me, but suddenly got nervous. I reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear and cautiously looked up to meet Daryl's eyes. He also seemed vaguely uncomfortable and looked at past me at the house before looking back at me "Told you, it was on the way." I nodded, unable to speak. We looked at each other for what felt like forever, but in reality was probably like 1 second before he gently reached out and shoved my shoulder gently towards the house. "Go on" I smiled and rolled my eyes at his gruffness. "Night Daryl" I said as I turned. "Night Liz". I glanced over my shoulder once to see him watching me before he turned and headed down the street.

As I went inside and shut the door, I had to lean against the inside of it for a minute. I felt a slight fluttering in my stomach and couldn't stop smiling. Suddenly, I stood up straight in panic,

 _Cant stop smiling? Check. Butterflies in my stomach. Double check. Attracted to Daryl physically?_ I thought of his smile a few minutes before and almost swooned all over again. _Check, check, and check._

 _Fuck._

 _I have a crush on Daryl._

 **And…cut! How'd you guys like it?**

 **As always, read and review! Your feedback is always greatly appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sooooo….long time, no see, huh? Sorry guys! I believe I've mentioned it before, but I'm in a graduate program and sometimes life just gets in my way and makes it hard for me to find time, let alone the energy and inspiration to write. However, the recent return of the Walking Dead on TV has re-inspired me and I managed to crank out this pretty lengthy chapter with lots of Daryl goodness. Hope this makes up for this long hiatus and the inevitable ones that will come in the future. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6: Healing hands

After my realization last night about Daryl, sleep had been hard to come by. I just laid in my bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering how this had happened so quickly. _For God's sake, Liz, you barely know the man! Apparently, all it takes to woo you is a couple conversations and some blue eyes._ Rolling over to my stomach, I groaned into the pillow and finally managed to fall into a restless sleep

A few short hours later, I woke up to the alarm buzzing. Wiping at my tired eyes, I squinted at the sun coming through the window, cursing everything that had kept me up so late and everything that made me unable to sleep in. _Stupid sun. Stupid nightmares. Stupid Daryl and his weirdly charming, unfriendly ways._ Rolling out of bed, I made my way to the bathroom to grab a quick shower before I started my day

Half an hour later, I made my way down the street towards the gardens. I had told Deanna the night before that I would stay in today and help with the crops. As I approached, I saw a few people already there, working away. Seeing a head of brown hair bent over some tomatoes, I eventually recognized Maggie. Changing my direction, I headed towards her. "Hey Maggie!" I said quietly as I approached in order to not startle her. She turned and smiled in my direction. "Liz! Hey! Are you helping out around here today?" At my nod, she continued. "Well, we could use the help. We've gotta get a couple of these fields weeded and planted today." "Well, I'm here to help any way I can. I'll grab some tools and get started," I said as I grabbed a shovel and headed a few patches over, deciding the quicker we got started, the quicker we could be done and get out of the blazing sun.

After a few minutes, Maggie made her way towards me and started working a few feet away. We started a quiet conversation, talking about everything and nothing. I asked her about her life before and she asked me about mine. When I told her I had just graduated from vet school, she did a double take and smiled. "My daddy was a veterinarian. It was amazing watching him work with animals. He had a pretty good touch with people too, though," she said as she scrunched her nose a bit and got a bittersweet look on her face. I smiled softly at her "I would have loved to meet him. He probably could have taught me a lot more than I learned in school," I said with a laugh. "In fact, he probably forgot more than I ever learned in school." We both laughed even more at that. Wiping my eyes, I guided the way back towards lighter conversation. Around lunch, the Korean guy from their group that I had noticed around town made his way into the fields toward us. Maggie smiled when she saw him and waved him on over. "Glenn! This is Liz, the girl I was telling you about the other day. Liz, this is my husband, Glenn." I gave her a quick glance, surprised she had talked about me, before I reached out to shake Glenn's hand. "Nice to meet you!" He smiled before giving me a quick glance up and down. "So, you're the girl who managed to tame Daryl." My eyes widened and I turned bright red. "T-tame? I don't know about all that. We've just spoken a couple times. Nothing major really…" I rambled on before Glenn started laughing and Maggie slapped his arm. "Glenn! Leave the poor girl alone!" Shaking her head, she turned back towards me. "Don't mind him. He likes to tease." I managed to let out a shaky laugh. Glenn looked at me again. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. But really, if you made Daryl like you, then I know you're a good person. He's the best judge of character I know."

 _Huh, second time I've been told Daryl is a great judge of character. Maybe there is a lot more under that tough exterior than I thought._ I followed Maggie and Glenn over to where the other workers sat, taking a lunch break. As we found a place to sit, I glanced around. _Actually, I wonder where Daryl is…I haven't seen him all day._ Taking another look, I realized I didn't see several of the new group members, including Rick or the katana lady.

"…Who ya looking for?" Maggie's voice broke me out of my thoughts. Hesitating to ask, I slowly began "…You mentioned Daryl a minute ago and it made me realize I hadn't seen him all day….and it seems like Rick and possibly a few others of your group are also missing…" I trailed off, leaving it an open-ended question. Glenn immediately smiled and started laughing. "Aww, look who's worried about Daryl!" I turned bright red again as Maggie smacked her husband's shoulder. "I told you to leave her alone, Glenn!" Turning to me, she started again "Really, feel free to hit him. I don't mind. To answer your question, a few of our group went out on a supply run. They should be back this afternoon sometime." Giving her a smile in thanks, I nodded and went back to my lunch. While I was glad to know where they were, especially Daryl, it also put a knot of worry in my stomach. It seemed like they could handle themselves, but it was always dangerous out there.

Sighing, I finished my food and then got up to work again. _Might as well distract myself from worrying too much,_ I thought to myself as I cracked my back and then headed into the hot sun again.

After several more hours of hot, sweaty work, we finally finished our jobs and went our separate ways. After waving to Maggie and Glenn, I immediately trudged home to take a shower, hoping it would soothe my aching muscles as well as clean me off.

After my shower, I went to grab some food from the kitchen and plopped down on my couch. I stretched out, finally feeling myself relax a bit…

I woke up with a crick in my neck from my odd position. I rolled over slowly, glancing out the windows to see that it was dark out. _Jesus. What time is it?_ Sitting up, I stretched and rubbed my eyes as I got up. Locating a clock, I realized it getting close to 9. _Well, there goes what little semblance of a sleep schedule I had._ Knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep if I went to bed, I decided to head out into the neighborhood and take a walk again. Sliding on my shoes and grabbing my knife, I headed out.

As I walked, I remembered the new group hadn't made it back by the time I went home earlier, and I began to wonder if they had ever made it. _Ok, lets be honest with our self here Liz. Yea, you don't want any of the new people to get hurt, but really you're wondering if Daryl specifically made it back"_ Scoffing at thoughts, I continued to meander around aimlessly, lost in a continuous loop of thinking about the group, then thinking about Daryl, then yelling at myself internally to stop thinking about Daryl so much, and then starting the cycle over again

I unconsciously ended up walking towards the gate as time wore on. As I got closer, I heard voices and some footsteps. _Why are there so many people at the gate this time of night?_ Just as I was about to pick up my pace and go see what was going on, a figure rounded the corner towards me, holding one arm across their chest and looking down at it oddly. As my eyes focused, a cold stab of fear shot through me. The arm across their chest had blood all over it. _Bit. They're bit. I've got to tell someone. Shit. Dammit._ As the figure neared, they finally looked up to where I was standing in front of them. My heart stopped as their eyes met mine. _Daryl._

 _No. No no no no. He can't be bit. He can't._ Daryl had stopped when he realized someone was in front of him and he squinted towards me. "Liz? What the fuck are your doing out here again?" I couldn't reply, still in shock. After I didn't say anything, he seemed to realize something was wrong and started to take a step towards me. "Hey, what's wr-"he stopped suddenly when I tensed and took a half step back. I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering back down to his arm again. "What's got you so spooked, girl?" He finally seemed to notice how I kept looking at his arm and glanced down at it. "Oh..shit. It's not a bite, Liz. Just a cut."

… _not a bite?_ Those words rang through my head. My chest loosened up and I gasped in a short breath. "It's not…" I swallowed and tried again. "It's not a walker bite?" He quickly shook his head and raising his arm slowly, took a step towards me and held it out towards me. "Look for yourself." Glancing at his face one more time, I shuffled closer to him and gently grabbed his elbow to get a better look.

It was hard to tell with all the blood and dirt, but it definitely looked like a straight cut with clean edges more than a bite wound. I slowly twisted his arm, getting a complete look at the wound. Unconsciously, I had moved even closer to him and was leaning over his arm. Satisfied, I straightened to look up at him and was a bit startled when I realized how close he was. One more small step forward and we would be toe to toe. We stared at each other for a split second before he tensed and took a half step back, pulling his arm out of my grasp gently.

"Believe me?" he grumbled out, not quite making eye contact. I nodded. "Yea. Sorry Daryl, I just…you came around the corner and all I saw was blood and a wound…I didn't mean to get all weird…I just got a bit freaked out…" He finally looked me in the eyes again for a few seconds before looking away again, bringing his uninjured arm up to chew on his nail. "Don't worry about it. Was smart of you. I would've reacted the same way." We looked at each other for a few more seconds before my gaze went back to his arm. "Let me clean that up for you. It looks like it might need stiches." I saw him tense and felt the protest coming. I jumped in again before he could say anything. "Nope. No buts. I may not be a human doctor, but I can tell when a wound needs to be treated." I could tell he was still trying to come up with an excuse, so I pulled out my last card. I took a step closer and touched his arm briefly, trying not to startle him "Please Daryl? It would really make me feel better if you let me get a good look at it." He glanced down at his arm again, chewing on his lip, then looked back up at me for a second, his eyes narrowed. I held his gaze, willing him to give in. Soon enough, I saw the fight leave his body. "Fine." I smiled brightly at him. _Ha. He's susceptible to the puppy dog eyes just like everyone else._ He rolled his eyes and gestured for me to lead the way. "Stop yer smiling and get a move on before I change my mind." Stifling a laugh, I turned and started heading back towards my house.

Daryl followed me back to the house and through the door without saying a word. I finally broke the silence once we were in my living room and I grabbed a couple lamps to light. "Let me go grab my med bag. Make yourself at home." He grunted as a reply, looking around the room slowly.

I ran up the stairs and into my bedroom, grabbing the case from under my bed. As I opened it to make sure I had all the supplies, my brain started to catch up to what was happening. _Daryl is in my house. He's downstairs. Oh god, I'm gonna have to be close to him to fix his arm. OH MY GOD, I HAVE TO TOUCH HIM. FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD._ I stopped, taking a couple of deep breathes to calm myself. _Ok Liz. Calm down. You are a doctor and you are doing a job. Control yourself._ I repeated this mantra in my head all the way down the stairs and as I turned the corner to the living room. At that moment, my internal chant came to a screeching halt. _Dear Lord Jesus, take the wheel._

Daryl sat on my couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. The lamps I had grabbed were now lit and the light was reflecting off his skin, making him look more handsome then normal. His arms were on impressive display in this position and I had to remind myself to keep my jaw off the ground. He was staring at the floor, seemingly lost in thought, giving me ample time to admire him. He looked… _damn good._

I must have made an unconscious noise because suddenly Daryl looked over at me. "Got yer shit?" Shaking my head to get rid of the hormonal haze I just been under, I started making my way towards him again and held up my bag as an answer. I set my bag down on the coffee table in front of him and then sat on the edge of the table myself, facing him where he sat on the couch. I gave him a slight frown. "Unfortunately I don't have any Lidocaine to numb the pain for you. Had to use the last of it a couple months ago." He gave a shrug, looking at the floor again. "Won't be the worst thing I've had stitched up with nothing to help." Raising my eyebrow, I decided that was story for another time. Turning slightly, I grabbed the suture material and cleaning supplies out of my bag and laid them on the table next to me. Turning back towards him, I reached forward to grab his arm. He flinched away from me, causing me to flinch in return. I pulled my hand back a bit as my gaze darted up towards his face. He was still leaning forward and looking at the floor, but from what I could see of his face it looked a bit red. He wordlessly held his arm out to me himself. Not taking my eyes of the side of his face, I slowly resumed my task and reached forward to grab his wrist. When he didn't react, I grabbed the gauze and cleaning solution from next to me to get to work.

As I cleaned, the cut started looking better than it had, but I had been right in thinking that it needed stitches. I cleared my throat a bit before I began speaking. "Not the worst cut I've seen, but it will definitely heal better with some stitches." He made a non-committal noise. _Ok, not feeling too chatty I see._ I glanced towards his face again. He was still staring a hole into my floorboards, chewing on his lip worriedly. My brow furrowed a bit. _He seems…weirdly tense. Maybe this hurts more than he was letting on earlier._ I focused again on his arm, deciding it was clean enough to start the hard part. I tossed the soiled gauze to the side and started to grab my suture supplies. I glanced towards him again. "You ready? I'll do my best to make it as quick as possible." He glanced in my general direction before nodding and looking away again. I took a deep breath before I pulled his arm forward and sat it across my legs. Glancing at him one last time, I grabbed my needle and started.

The only reaction Daryl showed was a slight twitch on the first pull through. After that, he sat stoically, not moving in the slightest besides breathing. As I worked, I let out a breath of a laugh, which cut through the silence of the room. After a few seconds, he finally spoke up "Something funny?" I couldn't help as a smile broke across my face. "I was just thinking…doctors don't know how easy they have it. This is the best suture job I've even done. Mostly cause you aren't a pissed off horse trying to run me over the entire time I'm fixing you." I snorted a little bit at the thought again. He made an amused noise and I glanced over to see a barely there smile on his face. I looked back down at my work and tried to think of a way to continue the conversation.

"So…you never actually told me what happened…" I trailed off, glancing up at him from the corner of my eye. "Got caught up in some walkers in a store we were looking through and caught it on a shelf as I was turning the corner…Stupid but hurt like a bitch." I smiled again, not looking away from his arm. "I can imagine. It's deep. I'm honestly impressed you did this by accident." We both sat in silence a bit more while I worked as quickly as possible to finish the job. Suddenly, I was startled by Daryl's voice. "You have more nightmares?" Frowning, I shook my head. "Why would you think that?" I felt him shrug a little bit. "You were outside again…" The frown eased off my face at that. "Oh, no! I just accidently fell asleep on the couch after working in the field all day and woke up after dark. Probably wasn't gonna sleep anytime soon, so just decided to patrol around a little bit. Lucky for you." I teased at the end of my explanation. I saw the corner of his mouth lift just a twitch.

 _I should thank him again for the talk last night…._ Plucking up a bit of courage, I started again. "Actually, since you brought it up…I've felt a lot better today about the nightmares…about Katie in general really. Today was the first time I've been able to think about her and feel anything but guilt." I swallowed before continuing. "I know I said thank you last night, multiple times in fact. And I don't know you that well, but I can tell you're the type of person who probably gets uncomfortable with excessive thanks, but I'm gonna say it again anyway. You didn't have to go out of your way to listen to me, but you did. And it helped me. Really. So…thanks" Realizing I'd made a bit more a speech than I intended, I hesitated to look at him. I had felt his arm tense on my lap as I spoke, which I knew probably wasn't a good sign. Steeling myself, I slowly looked up.

Daryl was looking straight at me with an expression I couldn't quite place. For the first time since he got to my house, he didn't break eye contact. We both sat there, frozen, just looking at each other. I suddenly became hyperaware of everything at once. The heat of his arm in my lap, the fact that I was closer than I had previously thought, with my knees sitting against one of his. The way he was looking at me like he couldn't quite figure me out. I was just starting to feel like I couldn't breathe when he suddenly blinked and looked away, releasing me from the weird spell I had just been under.

 _Was that…did we just have…a moment?_ Flustered and confused by what had just happened, I quickly finished the last knot on my suture and grabbed some antibiotic cream and some gauze to wrap the now fixed up cut in. Wrapping it up quickly as I could, I refused to look at Daryl. From what I could see in my peripheral vision, he was also trying to avoid looking at me at all costs. _Dammit. Why did I have to go and get all serious with the thank you. Now Daryl is uncomfortable and it's all weird and…ugh._

Mad at myself for making things awkward, I stood up, moving away from Daryl around to the other side of the coffee table. _I should probably actually tell him its ok for him to go now. So he can hightail it out of here as fast as he can._ I cleared my throat. "Alright, I'm done. You should be able to take that bandage off in a day or two. If you need it re-wrapped between then, you can come get me.." I risked a glance up as I said that and saw that he still wasn't looking at me, "Or go to the doctor's office if you don't wanna come here. That's fine too. You're free to go." I saw him nod once and he stood up and bolted out of the room in a few steps. I heard the door open and shut a few seconds later.

Standing there for few seconds to collect myself, I clenched my fists at my sides and took a few deep breaths. _Whatever Liz. It's fine. So what if you scared him off? It's not like you had an actual chance with him romantically anyway. And as far as friends, you've made some other friends now!_ Feeling a bit better, I started to clean up the mess left over on the table. I had just gone to throw away the used gauze when I heard a knock at the door. Confused, I reached down to my waist to make sure I still had my knife before I approached the door. Taking a deep breath, I slowly cracked it open and peered out. then opened the door completely when I saw what was on the other side.

Daryl stood on my front porch, hands at his sides, looking uncomfortable. He looked up as I opened the door and then immediately looked down again. Even more confused now, I started to speak when he suddenly interrupted me "Thanks." Startled, I just looked at him. He finally looked back up at me and kept my gaze. "For, ya know, fixin my arm," he continued as he gestured a bit vaguely towards my living room. Stunned, I finally managed to speak. "You-you're welcome. Really, it's no problem." I gave him a small smile. He seemed to relax a little bit and started to turn before he hesitated. He seemed to be going through some sort of internal fight with himself before he turned back towards me. "Also…sorry. For getting weird and running out after…that."

 _Wait, did he just acknowledge that there was a moment?! It wasn't all me?!_ Screaming internally, I managed to keep my external reaction down to a small blush as I looked down at my hands. "No…I, uh, yea. I was also a bit, uh, panicked I guess, after…yea." I rambled out incoherently. I managed to look up at him and our eyes met briefly before we both looked back down, me chuckling semi-uncomfortably.

After a few more seconds of awkwardness, I finally looked up and met his eyes and kept them. Dragging up what little courage his return had given me, I threw my cards out on the table. "I'd like it if you came by tomorrow. I would like to look at your arm again…but…I'd also just like to see you. If you want to, that is. Obviously." I shut my mouth before I could say something stupid. He continued looking at me, wearing the same expression he had been before in the living room. I was just starting to think I had read this whole thing wrong and overstepped my bounds when he finally nodded. "Ok."

 _Ok? That's a yes? He said yes!_ I was unable to keep the smile from spreading across my face at his answer. I was pleasantly surprised to see a half smile spread across his face in return. "Ok then….I will see you tomorrow, I guess." He nodded again before he quickly turned and headed down my front stairs and out to the sidewalk. He turned to look back at me as he reached the street, then shoved his hands in his pockets and headed towards his house.

I stood there a few seconds before I finally was able to go back inside and shut the door. As soon as the latch clicked, a huge smile broke across my face and I couldn't help but laugh a little. _Guess I had more of a chance than I thought._

 **There it is! Hope you guys enjoyed it! As always read and review if you'd like. I appreciate both constructive criticism and praise alike. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the inspiration going and write a few more chapters for you guys soon! Until next time.**

 **A/N: As I was re-reading through previous chapters of this to get the flow of the story again, I realized I had accidently autocorrected my name in instead of my character's name at least once, probably more. *face palm* Guess that's what I get for making our names start with the same letter. Anyway, if you do ever notice it, just skip right over it and have a laugh at my expense. Let's be honest, it'll probably happen again since I write and edit these myself. Thanks guys!**


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